Saturday, February 25, 2012

Sporting Draw Disney Opener

Sporting KC continued their preseason work yesterday in the opener of the Disney Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando, Florida. In the opening game of the tournament, Sporting KC took on the Houston Dynamo in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference finals where the Dynamo won 2-0.

Last night in Orlando, KC fielded a fairly first team lineup, there were only two positions where you could argue that someone else would be starting come March 10th in DC. If it were March 10th, Luke Sassano would likely be replaced by Julio Cesar, who is currently in Spain for personal reasons. The other is the debate over whether you start CJ Sapong or Teal Bunbury at the center striker position. Either one can play the position, but it's going to be a matter of preference for Peter Vermes.

In the end, both teams had some decent chances, with both Jimmy Nielsen and Tally Hall both coming up big for their side. The best chance for KC came in the 62nd minute, when a Graham Zusi cross was met by Kei Kamara. Kamara's header was saved, the rebound bounced off Sapong who couldn't get a good shot off before Houston cleared their lines. Houston's best chance came late in the game off a Dynamo corner kick. Geoff Cameron got a free header, but it was well within arm reach for Nielsen to make a diving save.

Sporting will play again tomorrow at 2pm against the Montreal Impact. The Impact lost their tournament opener last night to the Vancouver Whitecaps, 3-0.